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David Rakoff died on August 9, 2012. He’d appeared on This American Life 25 times, first in 1996, during the third month of the show; his last appearance was just a few weeks before he died. He was on the program so often that in putting together this week’s show, we realized we could tell a lot of his life story, simply through things he said on the show. So this week we do just that, with excerpts from some of his favorite stories over the years.

David on how he tried to pass as a local once he moved from Toronto to New York. He claims that there must be a chip in his head — or something like it — that automatically tells him when someone or something famous is Canadian. From episode #65: Who’s Canadian?

W hear the first time David appeared on our show, in a courtroom radio drama in which played a cat who was also the prosecuting attorney. From epsiode #12: Animals.

Then a story David co-wrote and performed with Jonathan Goldstein, originally for the CBC’s Wiretap, about a man who believes he’s turning into a cockroach and reaches out to a famous doctor for advice. Except the doctor will only respond in rhyme. David plays the doctor. From epsiode #470: Show Me The Way.